COMMUNITY HOSPITALS IN CUMBRIA

That this House believes that the seven community hospitals under threat in Cumbria serve a vital role in rural communities, not only providing a wide range of services to local people but also freeing up beds in the acute hospitals; further believes that there is overwhelming evidence from the Tucker Report that the community hospitals in Cumbria could expand their level of service and be in the front line of delivering the Government plans for health care closer to local communities; and calls on the Government to ensure that the strategic health authority and NHS trusts covering Cumbria maintain a wide range of facilities in all the community hospitals and not turn any of them into specialist units delivering only a narrow range of services.